Racket being improved elastic and repellent force

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a racket being improved elastic and repellent force including an elliptical head frame, a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame, a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame, a handle unit extended from the neck unit, and oblique grooves being consecutively formed along the \outer circumference of the head frame so that strings extended from the net unit can be wound on the head frame. Because the tension is improved in string, the strings crossing each other in the net unit can maintain a predetermined interval to improve the elastic and repellent force, and users can enjoy ball games without correcting the strings. Moreover, the present invention provides the racket having the excellent elastic and repellent force and impact absorption force without considering a material of the racket or strings or using a special device, and thus provides the simple and excellent racket which can be applied to various ball games with a low price.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a racket being improved elastic and repellent force, and more particularly to, a racket being improved elastic and repellent force which includes an elliptical head frame, a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame, a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame, and a handle unit extended from the neck unit, oblique grooves being consecutively formed along the outer circumference of the head frame so that strings extended from the net unit can be wound on the head frame.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In general, as shown in FIG. 1, a racket 100 includes an elliptical head frame 200, a net unit 300 installed along the inner surface of the head frame 200 to pass through the head frame 200, a neck unit 400 formed in the long axis direction of the head frame 200, a handle unit 500 extended from the neck unit 400, and a lower end unit 600 formed at the end of the handle unit 500.

[0003] Rackets are manufactured in a suitable thickness and size for ball games such as tennis, badminton and squash tennis. Especially, researches have been made to improve a strength, an elastic and repellent force and an impact adsorption force of the racket. There have been a lot of attempts to improve the strength, elastic and repellent force and impact adsorption force of the racket by improving a material thereof, which fails to suggest the most suitable material for the racket.

[0004] In addition, the racket price is considerably changed according to the material. Therefore, to provide the optimal racket by improving the material results in the high price of the racket. Even if the racket is made of a high quality material, it cannot completely solve the foregoing problems. Accordingly, researches have recently been made to improve the property of the racket by using a special component, less concentrated on the improvement of the high-priced material.

[0005] For example, there has been suggested an invention which intends to improve an impact adsorption force and an elastic and repellent force of a racket by inserting a high elastic sponge piece into a net unit. However, this invention fails to achieve the aforementioned objects because the sponge piece is easily separated from the net unit due to an impact by a ball in a tennis game.

[0006] As disclosed in the Korea Patent Official Gazette 2000-36629, there has been taught an invention which intends to improve an elastic and repellent force and an impact adsorption force of a racket by mounting a thrust device which can move in the up/down direction on the racket to increase power of the racket.

[0007] However, the aforementioned invention using the thrust device which can move in the up/down direction can only be applied to the tennis racket due to structural problems. Moreover, the thrust device complicates the structure of the racket, increases the production price of the racket, and incurs the maintenance and repair expenses due to its partial damage. Thus, this invention fails to provide the racket having high industrial applicability.

[0008] The U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,994 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 mounts a support member 114 on the outer circumference of a head frame 124 to improve a strength and an elastic and repellent force of the head frame 124.

[0009] However, the support member 114 for reinforcement increases a weight of a racket 110. Therefore, when the racket 110 maintains a constant weight, the head frame 124 is weakened.

[0010] In addition, fins 116 are protruded from the support member 114 to the frame 124 to fix strings 123, to relatively increase air resistance. It reduces racket performance compared with weight. Furthermore, a hitting surface is reduced as large as the protrusion width of the fins 116. In order to obtain the sufficient hitting surface, a size of the head frame 124 is increased, to increase the unit cost and weight of the racket 110. Because the strings 132 are inserted into string holes 134, the strings 132 are seriously bent in front of and behind the string holes 134 to reduce the elastic and repellent force, and easily cut to reduce the life span. It is also difficult to align the strings 132 in the up/down direction.

[0011] The formation process of the support member 114 including the fins 116 is complicated, and an additional process for punching the string holes 134 is necessary, to reduce productivity and increase defects. It results in great production cost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a racket being improved elastic and repellent force which shows the same performance in a variety of ball games including tennis without considering a property of a material and installing a special device.

[0013] In order to achieve the above-described object of the invention, there is provided a racket being improved elastic and repellent force comprising an elliptical head frame, a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame, a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame, a handle unit extended from the neck unit, and oblique grooves being consecutively formed along the outer circumference of the head frame so that strings extended from the net unit can be wound on the head frame. In addition, the oblique grooves can be consecutively formed in a part of the head frame.

[0014] Gas is filled in a space unit formed by the head frame, the neck unit and the handle unit.

[0015] Preferably, the oblique grooves are rounded in the width direction of the head frame. Differently from the general racket structure which cannot easily control tension in string because the strings extended from the net unit are passed through the insertion holes of the head frame and wound in a “

” shape, the strings extended from the net unit are easily strung by the rounded surface of the oblique grooves of the head frame.

[0016] In addition, high elastic tapes are adhered to the outer surfaces of the oblique grooves, to improve tension in string.

[0017] On the other hand, the above-described object of the invention can be achieved by forming the grooves on the outer circumference of the head frame in the longitudinal direction, and adhering the high elastic tapes to the outer circumference of the grooves.

[0018] According to another aspect of the invention, the strings extended from the net unit are coated by high elastic tubes in the oblique grooves, thereby preventing the strings of the head frame from being abraded when the racket collides with the ground in tennis and badminton.

[0019] In accordance with the present invention, the tension of the tennis strings is improved without using a special component such as a general support member. Therefore, the strings crossing each other in the net unit can maintain a predetermined interval to improve the elastic and repellent force, and users can enjoy ball games without correcting the strings. Because the excellent elastic and repellent force and impact absorption force are obtained without using a special device, the weight or size of the racket or resistance is not increased. As a result, the whole weight of the racket can be maintained 240 g, which is smaller than the general racket (270 g) by 12% and the racket of FIG. 2 (300 g) by 25%.

[0020] Especially, the racket of the invention does not need the support member having the string holes, and thus prevents the elastic and repellent force and the life span from being reduced because the tennis strings are seriously bent in front of and behind the string holes. Moreover, it is not necessary to consider which material is suitable for the racket or strings. A defect rate and a number of processes are decreased by omitting a complicated formation process of the support member, which results in improved productivity of the racket.

[0021] In addition, the elastic and repellent force, impact absorption force and strength of the racket can be improved by incorporating the frame, the neck unit and the handle unit, and filling various gases such as helium gas and compression air in the space unit thereof, without considering the material of the racket or strings and using a special device. In the case that the entire elasticity of the racket is remarkably varied according to the elastic and repellent force of the shaft itself, such as the badminton racket or squash tennis racket, performance of the racket is sufficiently improved to increase the entire strength of the racket. That is, the same strength of the racket can be obtained with a small amount of material, to reduce the weight of the racket. As a result, the high performance racket can be manufactured easily with a low price.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one example of a conventional tennis racket;

[0023]FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating another example of the conventional tennis racket;

[0024]FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view illustrating the tennis racket of FIG. 2;

[0025]FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a racket in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating part A of FIG. 4;

[0027]FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a racket in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 7 is an enlarged view illustrating part B of FIG. 6;

[0029]FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating major parts of a racket in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a racket in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and

[0031]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the racket of FIG. 9.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0032] A racket being improved elastic and repellent force in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033]FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively illustrate a racket in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, including an elliptical head frame, a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame, a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame, and a handle unit extended from the neck unit. Here, oblique grooves 13 are consecutively rounded in the width direction of the head frame 3 along the outer circumference of the head frame 3 so that strings 15 extended from the net unit 5 can be wound on the head frame 3, and the strings 15 extended from the net unit 5 are coated by high elastic tubes 19 in the oblique grooves 13.

[0034] The present invention provides the racket having the excellent elastic and repellent force by increasing tension in string, and constantly maintains the interval of the strings 13 crossing each other in the net unit 5 so that users do not have to adjust the interval of the strings 13 during the ball game such as tennis.

[0035]FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively illustrate a racket in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, including an elliptical head frame, a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame, a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame, and a handle unit extended from the neck unit. Here, oblique grooves 13 are consecutively rounded in the width direction of the head frame 3 along the outer circumference of the head frame 3 so that strings 15 extended from the net unit 5 can be wound on the head frame 3, grooves 21 are formed on the outer circumference of the head frame 3 in the longitudinal direction, high elastic tapes 16 are adhered to the outer surfaces of the grooves 21, and the strings 15 extended from the net unit 5 are coated by high elastic tubes 19 in the oblique grooves 13.

[0036] That is, the present invention increases the tension in string by forming the grooves 21 on the outer circumference of the head frame 3 in the longitudinal direction, and adhering the high elastic tapes 17 to the outer surfaces of the grooves 21. As shown in FIG. 8, oblique grooves 13-1 can be formed at the center portions of oblique protruding units 14 protruded from the outer circumference of the head frame 3 in the same direction. Accordingly, the grooves 13-1 are prevented from being caved into the head frame 3 not to reduce the strength of the head frame 3 like the grooves 13 of FIG. 5.

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, gas 18 is filled in a space unit formed by a head frame 3, a neck unit 7 and a handle unit 9, and a lower end unit 11 having a lower end groove formed to be incorporated with a gas injection unit 16 is formed at the end of the handle unit 9. Here, the gas injection unit 16 is installed on the inwardly-caved surface of the lower end unit 11 not to be exposed to the outside environment. As illustrated in FIG. 11, a high elastic tube 23 is adhered to the whole inner surface of the incorporated structure of a head frame 3, a neck unit 7 and a handle unit 9, to increase elasticity of a racket 1. Even if cracks are generated in the racket 1 due to poor formation and long time use, internal filling gas is prevented from being leaked, to maintain elasticity of the racket. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A racket being improved elastic and repellent force comprising: an elliptical head frame; a net unit installed along the inner surface of the head frame; a neck unit formed in the long axis direction of the head frame; a handle unit extended from the neck unit; and oblique grooves being consecutively rounded along the outer circumference of the head frame in the width direction of the head frame so that strings extended from the net unit can be wound on the head frame.
 2. The racket of claim 1, wherein protruding units are formed on the outer circumference of the head frame, and oblique grooves are formed at the center portions of the protruding units.
 3. The racket of claim 1 or 2, wherein high elastic tapes are adhered to the outer surfaces of the oblique grooves.
 4. The racket of claim 1 or 2, wherein grooves are formed on the outer circumference of the head frame in the longitudinal direction, and high elastic tapes are adhered to the outer surfaces of the grooves.
 5. The racket of claim 1 or 2, wherein the strings extended from the net unit are coated by high elastic tubes in the oblique grooves to prevent abrasion.
 6. The racket of claim 3, wherein the strings extended from the net unit are coated by high elastic tubes in the oblique grooves to prevent abrasion.
 7. The racket of claim 4, wherein the strings extended from the net unit are coated by high elastic tubes in the oblique grooves to prevent abrasion.
 8. The racket of claim 1, wherein the oblique grooves are formed in a part of the outer circumference of the head frame.
 9. The racket of claim 1, wherein gas is filled in a space unit formed by the head frame, the neck unit and the handle unit.
 10. The racket of claim 9, wherein a high elastic tube is installed in the space unit, and the gas is filed through the high elastic tube.
 11. The racket of claim 9 or 10, wherein the gas filled in the space unit is helium gas.
 12. The racket of claim 9 or 10, wherein the gas filled in the space unit is compression air.
 13. The racket of claim 9 or 10, wherein a lower end unit incorporated with a gas injection unit is hermetically sealed to the end of the handle unit.
 14. The racket of claim 13, wherein the gas injection unit is a valve device. 